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It's All Politics

Shutdown Diary, Day 7: The Blame Game

Alabama fans hold up a sign about the government shutdown during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Georgia State on Saturday.

Butch DillAP

As the seventh day of the federal government shutdown wraps up, Congress and the White House appear no closer to reaching a budget agreement.

Highlights:

Without much action Monday, a slew of newly released polls filled the news vacuum. While they showed that both parties are taking a hit over the shutdown, it appears Republicans are bearing the brunt of the blame from the American public.

An ABC/Washington Post poll conducted Oct. 2-6 found that 70 percent of Americans disapprove of the way congressional Republicans are handling budget negotiations, up from 63 percent last week.

The Democratic Party doesn't fare much better: 61 percent disapprove of the congressional Democrats' handling of negotiations, and 51 percent disapprove of President Obama's handling of the situation, both slight increases from last week's survey.

A CNN poll, conducted Oct. 3-6, also reports that Americans are generally upset with how the government is dealing with the current budget impasse.

Among those surveyed, 63 percent said they are angry with the Republicans for the way they have handled the shutdown compared with 57 percent for the Democrats. Fifty-three percent said they were angry with Obama for his handling of the shutdown.

Meanwhile, a Pew Research poll conducted Oct. 3-6 shows that 38 percent of Americans blame the GOP for the shutdown, while 30 percent fault the Obama administration. In a mid-September poll that was in the field before the government actually shut down, Pew found that 39 percent would blame the Republicans, compared with 36 percent for Obama.